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This collection has access restrictions. For
details, please see the
restrictions.

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival
material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are
physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available
through the World Wide Web. See the
section for more information.

This collection was processed with support from the Randleigh Foundation Trust.

William Joseph Eudy "Billy" Arthur, North Carolina editor, publisher, columnist, comedian, politician, and businessman.
Arthur, a dwarf, toured on the vaudeville circuit, 1929-1930, then attended the University
of North Carolina where he majored in journalism and was head cheerleader, 1931-1932.
From the 1930s through the 1950s, he edited or wrote for several newspapers.
He also represented Onslow County in the North Carolina House of Representatives,
1943-1945, and served as House reading clerk, 1955-1961. In 1962, Arthur opened a
hobby shop in Chapel Hill, from which he retired in 1980. The collection includes correspondence, writings, photographs, and other materials
relating to Arthur. Letters document Arthur's career as a writer, reading clerk in
the North Carolina House of Representatives, comedian, and businessman. Notable correspondents
include Terry Sanford, Dean Smith, Christopher Fordham, many state and national politicians,
and various editors and publishers.
Writings include newspaper clippings; syndicated material; and book-length manuscripts,
among them a book of North Carolina humor. There is also material relating to the
activities of Arthur family members and materials Arthur used in his comedy routines.
In addition, there are three scrapbooks documenting all phases of Arthur's life and
many photographs of Arthur, his family, and his friends.

This collection contains additional materials that are not processed and are currently
not available to researchers. For information about access to these materials, contact
Research and Instructional Services staff. Please be advised that preparing unprocessed
materials for access can be a lengthy process.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants,
as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the Billy Arthur papers #4448, Southern Historical Collection,
The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Received from Billy Arthur, Sr., of Chapel Hill, N.C., in May 1986 (Acc. 86068), May
1988 (Acc. 88048), August 1988 (Acc. 88086), December 1994 (Acc. 94179), and May 1997
(Acc. 97066), and from Billy Arthur Jr., of Chapel Hill, N.C., in April 2000 (Acc.
98607).

Received from Billy Arthur of Chapel Hill, N.C., on 14 May 1997.

Received from Billy Arthur Jr., of Chapel Hill, N.C., in April 2000 (Acc. 98607).

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or
confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy
laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. §
132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of
State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.).
Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to
identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent
of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under
common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's
private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable
person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no
responsibility.

The following terms from
Library of Congress Subject
Headings
suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the
entire collection; the terms do
not usually represent
discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or
items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's
online catalog.

The collection includes correspondence, writings, photographs, and other materials
relating to Arthur. Letters document Arthur's career as a writer, reading clerk in
the North Carolina House of Representatives, comedian, and businessman. Notable correspondents
include Terry Sanford, Dean Smith, Christopher Fordham, many state and national politicians,
and various editors and publishers. Writings include newspaper clippings; syndicated
material; and book-length manuscripts, among them a book of North Carolina humor.
There is also material relating to the activities of Arthur family members and materials
Arthur used in his comedy routines. In addition, there are three scrapbooks documenting
all phases of Arthur's life and many photographs of Arthur, his family, and his friends.

Letters and telegrams, incoming and outgoing, documenting Billy Arthur's public career
as a writer, reading clerk in the North Carolina House of Representatives, comedian,
and businessman. Notable correspondents include Terry Sanford (folder 6), Dean Smith
(folder 10), UNC-CH Chancellor Christopher Fordham (folder 10), many state and national
politicians, and various editors and publishers. Personal and family correspondence
is scant.

Correspondence, contracts, blueprints, advertisements, copyrights, a birth certificate,
and a will documenting several of Arthur's business ventures and family financial
matters. Of particular interest is correspondence dealing with a dispute between Trico,
Inc., and Billy Arthur, Inc. (hobby shop), over Arthur's a bonus in 1979.

Newspaper clippings, syndicated material, and two book-length manuscripts written
by Billy Arthur. Among the clippings are columns written by Arthur for Suden's
Red Fez,
The Jacksonville Daily News,
The Chapel Hill Weekly, and
The Chapel Hill Newspaper. The manuscript
Worst of Billy Arthur remains unpublished. There is also a manuscript for a book of North Carolina humor.
The material from
The Chapel Hill Weekly was selected by Arthur, not written by him.

Material documenting the activities of various members of Billy Arthur's family, biographical
material (mostly newspaper clippings), genealogical material, monologue material,
awards and certificates, and some printed material. Arthur purchased most of the material
he collected for his comedy monologues.